10 Foods to Help You Stay Healthy this Flu Season

You got your flu shot.  You wash your hands, cover your mouth, and stay away from others who might be sick.  But are you really doing all you can to stay healthy this flu season?  According to many physicians, scientists and dietitians, building your overall immunity is perhaps the best way to ward off the flu this time of year.

Here are a few ways to stay healthy this flu season.

1 – Drink water.  It sounds simple, but most adults don’t get adequate hydration.  Water helps the body by regulating body temperature, it protects and cushions your joints, and helps get rid of waste through urination and perspiration.  Water is the key to keeping you from becoming dehydrated when you aren’t feeling well.  If water doesn’t do it for you, try tea or juice, as well as water-filled foods such as watermelon, tomatoes, lettuce, soups and broths.

2 – Naturally-orange foods are the key to providing you with beta-carotene, which improves your body’s defenses by helping to develop the immune system’s cells.  Beta-carotene also helps neutralize harmful toxins.  Add sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pumpkin, egg yolk and cantaloupe to your diet for maximum benefit. 

3 – Eat salmon.  Salmon can help build your intake of vitamin D, which could help protect against respiratory infection.  Another great source of vitamin D – skim milk!

4 – Drink black, green, oolong or white tea.  Researchers found that drinking five cups of black tea each day boosted the body’s immune defense system by more than four times in just two weeks. The theanine and catechins found in the tea decrease the free radicals in your body and reduce the risk of flu. 

5 – Try yogurt.  Yogurt helps keep disease-causing germs out of your digestive tract because it contains pro- and pre-biotics, beneficial bacteria that help boost your digestive health.  Yogurts containing live and active cultures work best to enhance immune function.  If you don’t like yogurt, try cottage cheese, kimchi or sauerkraut.  You can also take an over-the-counter probiotic.

6 – Cook with garlic.  Some say the strong smell can actually “stink” out illness because of the phytochemical allicin that is found in garlic. Some studies show that people taking allicin supplements get almost 50% fewer colds and recover quicker than those not taking the supplement.  Experts recommend two cloves a day.

7 – Get your vitamin-C.  Vitamin-C may lessen the duration of a cold or the flu, so getting your fill of foods loaded with the vitamin can’t hurt!  One cup of strawberries provides 160% of your daily vitamin-C needs, and one medium tomato gets you 40%.  Blueberries might be the best choice:  they are high in vitamin-C, and also have one of the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants per serving.  

8 – Don’t forget your zinc!  Zinc helps the white blood cells to attack bacteria and viruses like the flu or cold.  Eat an oyster, or a serving of black-eyed peas, which are both high in zinc.  Other good choices:  pinto beans, peanuts, roasted pumpkin seeds and wheat germ.

9 – Eat your mushrooms!  Mushrooms provide selenium (which helps the white blood cells work to get rid of sickness) and beta glucan (an antimicrobial type of fiber which helps activate the cells that find and destroy infection.)  Mushrooms help the body resist viral infections by increasing the activity of these natural killer cells, which are vital to infection control.

10 – Snack wisely.  Dark chocolate (in moderation!) can actually help boost your immune system’s ability to fight off infection.  So can the vitamin E found in heart-healthy almonds.  Choose one of these when you crave a snack, and you just might ward off viral infections.

And if you’re feeling under the weather?  Have some chicken soup.  Chicken soup contains a compound known as carnosine, which can help your immune system fight off cold and flu viruses in their early stages.  It is important to consume a steady amount throughout your illness for the effects to work. 

By Dayle Bara, RD

Dayle is the Director of Nutritional Services at the Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. For more information about Gurwin’s family of services, visit www.gurwin.org.